Floyd County Obituary Records and Death Search

Floyd County obituary and death records are maintained by the Circuit Court Clerk in Floyd and through Virginia's statewide vital records system, providing access to death documentation for family researchers and genealogists in this Blue Ridge Highlands county in Southwest Virginia.

Floyd County Circuit Court Clerk

The Floyd County Circuit Court Clerk in Floyd holds land records, probate records, and marriage records dating back to the county's formation in 1831 from Montgomery County. Records before 1831 for Floyd County families are found in Montgomery County files at the Library of Virginia.

Estate files at the circuit court document deaths and family relationships through the probate process. Floyd County is a small rural mountain county, and families here often had strong church ties that supplemented official records. The clerk's office can help locate estate files by name or approximate year.

Floyd County Death Certificates

Certified death certificates for Floyd County deaths from 1912 to the present are available through the New River Health District or the Virginia Department of Health. The fee is $12 per copy. Under Code of Virginia Title 32.1, deaths within the last 25 years are restricted to immediate family members.

Order from VDH at (804) 662-6200 or at vdh.virginia.gov/vital-records. For in-person requests, the New River Health District serves Floyd County. Bring photo ID. For deaths within the last 25 years, include documentation of your family relationship.

The screenshot below shows the VDH vital records portal, the primary source for certified Floyd County death certificates.

Virginia's Office of Vital Records handles all certified death certificate requests for Floyd County and the rest of Virginia from June 1912 forward.

Historical Death Records in Floyd County

Floyd County death registers from 1831 to 1896 are on microfilm at the Library of Virginia. The county was formed in 1831, so registers begin from that year. The statewide 1897-1911 gap applies to Floyd County as well. For those years, mountain church records and cemetery surveys fill in the gap.

Floyd County has many old mountain cemeteries that have been surveyed by genealogical volunteers. Many of these surveys are available online through the Virginia Genealogical Society and through FindAGrave. They provide death dates and family relationships not always found in official records.

The Library of Virginia death guide at lva-virginia.libguides.com/bmd/death explains what is available for Floyd County. The Henley Index at lva-virginia.libguides.com/henley covers Virginia newspaper obituary notices from 1736 to 1982, including Southwest Virginia Blue Ridge region coverage.

Online Obituary Search Tools for Floyd County

Find It Virginia at finditva.com gives free access to Floyd County death records from 1912 to the present. A Virginia library card is needed to log in. Search by name and county to find death index entries before ordering a certified copy.

The Virginia Genealogical Society obituary database at virginiagenealogy.org/obits indexes obituaries from multiple Virginia newspaper sources. Floyd County families appear in this database, drawing from Southwest Virginia papers. The database is free to search.

The Virginia Museum of History and Culture at virginiahistory.org holds family papers and compiled genealogies for Southwest Virginia families. Floyd County mountain families with roots in the Blue Ridge appear in VMHC collections.

The screenshot below shows the Virginia Genealogical Society obituary database covering Southwest Virginia including Floyd County sources.

The Virginia Genealogical Society obituary index covers multiple newspaper sources relevant to Floyd County and the surrounding Blue Ridge region.

Public Access and FOIA Rights

Under the Virginia Freedom of Information Act at Code of Virginia Section 2.2-3700, death records older than 25 years are public. Floyd County Circuit Court records including probate files and deed books are open to the public and can be reviewed at the courthouse in Floyd.

Genealogy Resources for Floyd County

Floyd County genealogy often involves tracing mountain families with roots in Montgomery County and the broader Blue Ridge region. The Library of Virginia at lva.virginia.gov holds Floyd County records along with the parent county materials from Montgomery. The LVA collections index at lva.virginia.gov/collections/cri identifies what is available.

Floyd County Public Library provides access to Ancestry Library Edition for cardholders. Local genealogical groups in the New River Valley and Blue Ridge region have indexed many Floyd County cemeteries and church records. These community-sourced databases supplement official death records and cover families not always found in official registers.

Cities Near Floyd County

There are no qualifying independent cities immediately adjacent to Floyd County. Roanoke and Radford are the nearest qualifying cities.

Nearby Counties

Floyd County borders Carroll, Patrick, Montgomery, and Roanoke counties in the Blue Ridge region of Southwest Virginia.